


Imp mansion

by Gwenore



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Body Horror, F/M, Gothic, Horror, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-13 10:42:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21242783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwenore/pseuds/Gwenore
Summary: 1923, Belle French’s car breaks down outside of the small town of Storybrooke. She comes across a strange mansion belonging to an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Gold who harbors a dark secret and there are forces which does not wish for Belle to ever leave the dark mansion.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So… 30th October 3 years ago I uploaded the first chapter of Beneath the Skin. So this is a story where the imps make their return. I adore the buggers. I also will make this story my November writing project by uploading a chapter each day (short chapters, but chapter none the less). We will see how many days I make it :P

Belle was wandering down the street with the rain beating off the cobblestones. Her car had broken down… and of course it was in the middle of nowhere. Of course it couldn’t have happen in the middle of a town… still she doubted that anyone out here would have much knowledge of cars… farm equipment perhaps, but even then this were a place where the horse and plow were still very much in use.

This really was a place where the world which hadn’t gotten into the modern world yet.

Wasn’t that why she had travelled out here? To get away from it all? … or just escape from the judgmental looks. Seemed like she had a scarlet letter above her head because of what she had done.

But with her coat and dress soaked with the rain and her shoes drenched… she regretted her choice. She really was not dressed for this sort of weather…

Soon she saw a sign which gave her hope, mentioning towards a mansion, Caisteal Dorcha… she did not know what that meant… or if there were even people living there still. Anyway… it might give her some shelter until the rain passed.

But… there were a hope that there was a possibility for someone to live there, and if it was a large mansion they must have a phone right?

Turning onto the gravel path she hurried along up towards the mansion where she swallowed nervously. She could only hope that she would be able to get some help.

It didn’t take long until an absolutely massive mansion came into view. It looked like it was more like a castle than a mansion.

While it looked like it had come into disrepair, what made Belle’s heart fill with hope that she could get some help was the fact that she was able see some light flickering behind the thick glass of the windows.

Already she was absolutely freezing, so in hopes of perhaps getting some warmth in her she hurried along the path until she stood before the great door. Reaching out a hesitant hand she reached over and knocked on the door.

Unsure if she was being heard she reached over and knocked again.

Leaning in and listening she could hear movements on the other side… but it wasn’t the sound of humans moving about… more like… animals? She supposed… though the sound didn’t match with any animals that she was familiar with.

Deciding that she should knock again, her knuckles almost touched the wood door when it slowly creaked open.

Feeling rather nervous she took a uncertain step inside.

“Hello?” she asked, looking for the one who had opened the door, but it seemed to have done so by itself.

“Is anyone there?” she took further steps inside. The mansion was a lot warmer than she had expected, as she had always imagined that a large place such as this and made of stone would have to be cold. That was how the books described them anyway.

Belle almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the door slam shut behind her follow by the sound of the lock snapping shut.

“Oh… no! No… no, no, no! NO!” Belle said with fear in her voice as she ran over and tried to open the door, but it was indeed locked.

“Great…” she sighed to herself scratching the side of her head. Now she had to also explain to whoever lived in this place that she had managed to lock herself inside their house. She could only hope that they wouldn’t arrest her for trespassing or something.

That would have to be a problem for when it came up… after all… she was already locked inside so…

“Also… if they are able to call the police… that means they have a phone… I suppose that is good,” Belle said to herself… trying not to think about if that if they decided to kill her no one would ever find out what happened to her.

“At least it is warm…” she thought, delighting in feeling how the warmth spread through her body.

“Um… hello?” she asked as she looked around. “Hello. My name is Belle French! I do not mean to intrude, but… well I got locked inside!”

She continued to walk further into the mansion, trying to catch a view of the people living there. In such a big mansion there should be people everywhere, shouldn’t there?

Belle swallowed. This place… despite not looking the part… almost seemed abandoned. But still… how come she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched?

Shaking her head she wandered down the hallway.

“Um… hello?” she was starting to doubt that she would find anyone else… what if this was haunted? With the door opening by itself and everything else…

The young woman felt the hairs on her back stand up. No… there wasn’t such a thing as ghosts were there?

Swallowing she continued on.

“At least I can warm up…” she kept speaking to herself, trying desperately to ignore the fact that she was utterly alone.

She found herself in a large living room, glancing around. It had a lot of stuff in it… mostly things that were antiques… and rather valuable.

Did someone leave all this stuff? That wasn’t possible. This place couldn’t be abandoned, she reminded herself when she looked at the myriads of candles placed all around. If this place abandoned they would surely have burned out long ago and it didn’t look like someone had left in a hurry.

Still… she could not shake the feeling that she were being watched… by several eyes digging into her skin.

“Um… is anyone here?”

She glanced around, her fingers playing with the tip of her hair, swallowing nervously.

“What are you doing here?”

Belle almost felt herself jump out of her skin at the sound of the voice. Spinning around she saw a man standing in the door opening.

She hadn’t even heard his steps! Her hand over her chest she attempted to catch her breath.

“I am terribly sorry. My name is Belle French… my car… it broke down not far from this mansion,” Belle spoke quickly to make herself calm down so that she did not seem like an utter lunatic.

“Bad luck…” the man cocked his head towards her.

“Very… but I found this mansion and… I was knocking… and the door opened and… locked behind me,” Belle said with a nervous tone. The man practically rolled his eyes at this.

“Of course they did…” he said in a low tone.

“They?” she asked nervously.

“It,” the man seemed to correct himself. “However… it doesn’t seem like your luck has grown any better sadly.

“Oh…” Belle said with a shiver go down her back. Was she in danger? Was this some madman? Unknown for her she started to back away nervously.

“Yes…” the man made an exaggerating movement with his hand. “No electricity I am afraid. No phone… so I am afraid that I cannot call anyone to come assist you with your car.”

“OH!” Belle exclaimed… well that certainly explained all the candles around… “I am sorry for the intrusion…”

“It is getting late… I should perhaps head out… do you have a map or something to the nearest town?” she asked.

“Yes, I should, I will…” the man’s voice faded out, glancing behind himself.

“Uh… excuse me for a moment,” he excused himself before he walked away. Belle was left standing there and furrowing her brows. She certainly hadn’t heard anything.

“Odd…” she whispered to herself. The man looked to be in his fifties, dressed head to toes in heavy robes which seemed to be out of date in the last centuries. It must have been absolutely sweltering to wear however. Belle was certain that she would be able to wear her summer dress in here and still feel nice and warm.

The man was even wearing gloves.

The wait seemed to be long however, before the man came back.

“Uh… it seems that it might be unwise for you to go out in this weather. If you want… you could stay. It might be better weather in the morning, and… well light. For a woman to walk alone… something could happen. It will also get easier to help with your car,” he hardly met her eyes.

While Belle was very happy at the prospect of not having to go out again and be able to stay in a warm place for the night. But… what had changed his mind.

“Thank you. I really do appreciate your generousness Mr… uh… I do not have your name,” she said, wondering if staying there was a good thing as she knew nothing of this man. However… it certainly wasn’t better freezing to death in this weather… no matter who she could encounter in the middle of the night.

“Gold… you may call me Mr. Gold.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle observes some of the mansion’s odd decorations.

Belle still was not certain if it was lucky or unlucky that she had found the mansion Caisteal Dorcha. Certainly something in this place was off…

The feeling that she was being watched seemed constant, and she constantly looked over her shoulders, expecting something to be looking back at her.

Mr. Gold did not seem to notice this behavior, and if he did he had the good grace not to mention it.

The owner of the mansion made a sudden stop such that Belle almost walked into him.

“You can stay here for the night. There is a full robe there along with some slippers which you are welcome to wear,” he said as he pulled out his key ring which had several keys on it, unlocking the door, and opening it.

The room had a large bed with bed posts which had strange carved creatures on them. Rather humanoid looking, but walking on all four, without lips and large round eyes. It was… odd.

“Oh… you are so gracious,” she said as she took a couple of steps into the room.

“It would be bad if you became sick. I will make some tea and I haven’t had supper yet. I will wait for you to be ready,” he made a bow of his head.

“Again, your generosity is astonishing and I can do nothing but thank you,” she twinned her fingers nervously.

Mr. Gold simply glanced over his shoulder, before he glanced down.

“I assure you… there is no need,” he said with a low tone, before he turned his back and proceeded to walk down the hallway again before down the stairs.

“Oh,” she said with a bit surprised tone. She looked around and was surprised to find the robe and slippers by the bed as if… she has been expected. But how was that possible? Had he seen her walking up to the mansion? That could have been possible she imagined, but it seemed at first he was going to send her on her way, but had a change of heart.

It also didn’t seem that he was even wanting to have her there. It was simply something that he had accepted as necessary due to the bad weather and he could not be responsible if she died trying to find other help.

So perhaps this wasn’t for her at all… just something that he had laying out for some reason? That seemed odd as well, but… at least from what she had read people living in giant mansions by themselves tended to be a bit odd…

They also tended to be… well… if she was going to get any sort of sleep this night she should not think too closely on that.

Seated on the bed she looked at the strange sculptured bed posts, not able to keep from reaching out her hand and ran the tips of her fingers over the face of one of the carvings. She had never seen iconography like this before.

“Odd…” she whispered softly. Sleep might be a challenge.

With a sigh she started to remove her damp clothing hanging them on a chair so that they would dry.

Picking up the robe she leaned in and smelled it. It smelled clean and it was even warm. Not perhaps a surprise as the mansion itself were warm. Taking it on she felt the warmth slowly seep into her skin before he let out a long sigh.

Her shoes were dirty and her socks wet, so being able to remove them before she stepped into the slippers, moving her toes as feelings slowly started to return to them, causing them to prickle as if she was walking on needles.

“Well… if I am going to die tonight… I prefer to do it warm and cozy and not into the pouring rain…” she jested to herself as a way to calm herself down. Feeling her stomach rumble softly, she moved out of the room.

The mansion though light up by candle light was rather dark, but she could easily make her way down the hallway, the carpet thick and soft that she imagined that she would hardly would need the slippers at all.

Walking down the stairs she looked around now noticing that the carvings had been more than simply on the bedposts. Now it seemed that everywhere she looked there were carvings of the little odd creatures everywhere. Especially up against the roof where some were larger and… well… almost life like.

Belle shook her head, before she heard Mr. Gold speak to someone… however said someone did not answer back. Could he be speaking to himself? If he usually lived alone in this place she could hardly blame him for doing so. She often did this as well when she was alone. It helped when it came to thinking.

“Uh… Mr. Gold?” she asked. The speaking abruptly stopped.

“In the dining room, Miss French,” he answered her, while she did not know where that was exactly, she heard his voice easily enough.

However… when she took another glance at the carvings up by the roof… that was rather odd. She could have sworn that they were in a different position than before. As if… they had moved.

“I must really be exhausted…” Belle muttered before she finished walking down the stairs, unaware of several glowing eyes following her.

Entering in the dining room she was surprised that there was full meal waiting for her, especially a large pot of what smelled like meat stew.

In fact… there seemed like all of the dishes were meat… she was able to see a single whole vegetable or fruit. Still… she was in no position to be picky.

“That is a lot of food…” she said. Mr. Gold looked at her, she now noticing how intense his eyes were, especially with that yellow eye color.

“Hmm…” he looked over the food. “I assure you it will eventually be eaten.”

“Still… thank you, for all of this,” she said, walking towards the chair which he mentioned towards.

“Again… you do not need to thank me,” he simply said as he poured her some of the meat stew into the plate before her.

“Well… I am still grateful. And this smells wonderful, what is it?” she said as she lifted a spoon to her face to smell it.

“Deer,” he responded as he sat himself down and started on his own meal.

“Oh, I have not had deer before,” she said as she took a bite. The meat was absolutely wonderful, especially with the warm spices and wine in the stew.

“It is good meat,” Mr. Gold said, his golden eyes falling on her as he ate.

“It really is,” Belle nodded her head. “So… Mr. Gold, do you know about the town of Storybrooke?”

A sly smile came upon his lips. “If you are going there… I would strongly reconsider… especially with your luck. Because… in Storybrooke… bad things happen.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Gold and Belle talks about the rumors of Storybrooke.

“I have heard stories about Storybrooke, but surely they are just stories,” Belle continued. Her mysterious host let out a laugh, as he shook his head.

“All stories come from somewhere,” he said as he poured her some wine, before pairing himself one as well.

“But surely…” Belle said, however Mr. Gold simply raised a brow towards her, which silenced her.

“But that is impossible,” she leaned closer to him.

“You have grown up in the city, Miss French. In the modern world… but I assure you that there are places which take no heed of the words of those who say that the world have been figured out,” it seemed he was unable to keep a grin from coming upon his lips.

“If you forgive me, Mr. Gold… this mansion seems like one of those places,” Belle said as she continued to eat.

He let out another chuckle. “Because it is.”

Belle stopped a bit, before she took another bite. “I have to confess… this place have rather… interesting decorations.”

“Decorations?” Mr. Gold questioned.

“Yes… those strange… uh… imps? I have seen them everywhere,” Belle mentioned her hand before she sipped the wine and let out a delighted hum. “This wine is absolutely wonderful, by the way.”

“Imps huh? Suppose that is a good word for them,” he simply shrugged. “However… well… they were here before I was and I would not be able to get rid of them.”

“They are sort of endearing I think,” Belle answered.

“Oh? That is not the usual thought about them… not that I have many visitors, I can still tell that it is unusual,” Mr. Gold commented.

“They seem like house spirits,” she chuckled a bit. Gold brought a hand up to her lips with a soft laugh.

“Hmm… you certainly have an amazing imagination, if you permit me say so, Miss French,” he then said.

“I have been told that several times… trouble when you grow up with your nose in your book,” Belle said. “Makes people think that I am rather odd.”

“Better than being boring,” the older man gave a shrug of her shoulders. Belle was a bit surprised at that, however looking around she imagined that the last word one could use to describe Mr. Gold was boring. It also seemed like he would detest the description.

“Perhaps… I have to admit I would dread to hear be trapped in a life which is… boring,” she said.

“Hmm… well… is that the reason you are on your way to Storybrooke? Certainly it would be the place if you wish to escape such a fate… however…” he paused. “I do not believe you would be able to handle the consequences.”

Belle furrowed her brows. Had this come from any other man she would suspect it was hyperbole… or something he said because he thought of her as a weak woman. But that was not the feeling she got when she got from Mr. Gold. It was more like he was being gracious in warning her with what he knew. That he shared his warning out of respect, not concern.

“And… what is the consequences?” she asked, leaning closer as if they needed to keep their voices low in case someone else were listening in this empty mansion.

“Death… if you are lucky,” he man smiled. Belle half expected him to reveal his elaborate and perhaps tasteless jokes, but again she had the feeling that he was serious.

“And if I am not?” she asked.

Mr. Gold paused for a bit, cocking his head. “Oh… that depends on who you run into. But I do assure you… if you enter Storybrooke… you will not be able to leave… at least not as something anyone would recognize.”

Belle swallowed. It was true that she had read about all the people who had mysteriously vanished around the small town of Storybrooke. Hell, it was even starting to become a legend which stated that the town never existed in the first place. That it was some legend or that the town had existed at some point, but no longer did.

“They said that it might because of the mine. An accident which caused fumes to reach the surface and this may have left the town… deadly,” she swallowed. That was at least the common story.

“If you have heard of that rumor… why would you try to find a town which is supposed to be filled with deadly fumes from a mine?” Mr. Gold questioned her. Belle took a deep breath.

“Didn’t seem right… there was never any indication that this area has ever had any gas deposits, nor can I think of some who is so lethal, yet do not seem to affect the nearby area. Besides… I did not have much thoughts of where I would go. Just… gave me a destination I suppose. A mystery to uncover,” she made a hand motion.

Mr. Gold nodded. “I must confess… I cannot see that as anything other than very foolish,” he then said.

Belle chuckled as she shook her head. “Suppose it does sound rather insane now that I am saying it out loud.”

“Yes… most things do,” he said as he went back to his meal. The two ate for a couple of moments.

“So…” it was Belle who broke the silence. “Is Storybrooke far from here?”

Mr. Gold slowly shook his head. “No… in fact… had you gone the other way… I suspect that is where you would have ended up. It is just a couple of miles down the road,” he informed her. Belle swallowed.

“So… that is the nearest town then?” she asked.

“Yes… I suppose it is. But I do not go in there. I am not that foolish. It is hard to find… however…” he paused.

“What?” Belle asked, her heart in her throat.

“If you have a desperate soul… it will pull you in, and it gets claws in you. And you dear… you seem to me to have a rather desperate soul.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Gold and Belle figures it may be best for her to stay in the mansion for a couple of days.

There was a long silence between the two, Belle’s head so filled with thoughts that she was unable to speak for a while. All that she had learned about Storybrooke… it paled with what Mr. Gold had told her. Reading about it… it sounded like a mystery like the ones her heroines would discover in her novels. But… nothing which could really be real.

But she had a feeling that it was far more than that. Of course… he could be telling her stories… or just exaggerating. However… there was a feeling deep in her gut which told her that everything which Mr. Gold had told her was true… and a warning well heeded.

If the rumors were true… that people vanished in that town… she didn’t really want to vanish. Not like that at the very least. Not when she was faced with that possibility.

“So…” Mr. Gold’s voice broke her train of thought. “What will you do now?”

Belle swallowed. “I must confess that Storybrooke does not really seem like a tempting prospect right now.”

“Very wise,” Mr. Gold said with a low bow.

“But… it is the nearest town isn’t it? And I drove for a long time before my car broke down where I did not see much of… anything…” she swallowed. Mr. Gold slowly wiped his lips, his gloved hand resting for a bit over his lips before he nodded.

“You would be correct in that regards. This mansion is really out in the middle of nowhere… unless you count Storybrooke of course… and I would not count that at all…” he paused a bit.

Belle swallowed. “And no way to contact a mechanic? There isn’t one in Storybrooke is there?”

“There is… but he is just as trapped as the rest… besides, you would have to enter the town. Again… something that I do not recommend. Even going in for something like that… well…” his voice faded out again.

“But… I do not have another choice. I cannot go back to the last town I passed. I believe I wouldn’t reach it until nightfall even if I started to walk at dawn… or at all honesty…” her voice faded a bit. One problem that she didn’t want to bring up, as she didn’t want him to think that she wished to take advantage of him was the fact that she was lacking funds. She had brought with her a bit of money… just a bit so that she could pay for food and fuel as well as a couple of nights in some cheap motels.

The more she thought about her actions the more she cursed herself about her decision to up and leave, even though she felt if she didn’t have a choice at a time. If she had waited, leaving might have been impossible. She felt as if she just wanted to… vanish.

Mr. Gold observed her with those golden eyes, before he casually glanced over his shoulder, listening to no one before he turned towards her.

“I know that this may sound… improper, but I have a man working for me. His name is Mr. Dove. He is a… handyman, I suppose that you would call it. If there is anyone around here who can fix that car, it would be Mr. Dove. If it would turn out that even he cannot do so, he may give you a ride back to the town where he lives. At the very least I do believe it is a train station there which should take you back to civilization,” Mr. Gold then said, keeping a slight glance over his shoulders. “However…?”

He paused a bit, Belle having moved to the edge of her seat. “What?”

“He only comes once a week, and he just left two days ago. It is of course that there is some time until he returns and I can understand if you do not wish to wait for that, however… I would not mind housing for you for that time,” the man continued, his golden eyes looking into her blue ones.

“That is…” Belle said with an astonished voice, brushing a couple of strands of her long brown hair behind her ear. “That is incredible kind of you. I must confess I don’t have much money to repay you, but…”

Mr. Gold held up his gloved hand towards her.

“If you have not noticed Miss French… I am not much in the need for riches,” he mentioned towards all the things in the room. Belle’s eyes followed his hand.

“Well… I suppose…” she swallowed. “Again… I must thank you so much for generosity. I can imagine that housing some strange girl when you woke up this morning.”

“Perhaps not… but things does happen that are outside of our control all the time,” he made a dismissive movement. Belle felt a bit awkward that he would not recognize what he had done for her. It honestly felt like he didn’t want to, but that he had no other choice. But… that was true after all. She had just barged into the mansion without any warning, no plans, no resources, nothing. The only town close being a town he knew was dangerous… of course he would feel he would have any other choice than to house her before he could send her safely on her way.

“Again… thank you,” she said gratefully.

“Well… I am sure that you are exhausted from the day you have had Miss French. Allow me to take you to your room,” he mentioned with his hand. Belle nodded. With warm food in her she was ready to fall asleep in a warm bed.

“You sure that you do not need help with the table?” she said, still a bit surprised at how easily he had brought out this veritable feast in mere moments. Mr. Gold made a shaking motion of his head.

“No need, it will be taken care of,” he said as he walked ahead of her, leaving her little choice but to follow.

The layout of the mansion was rather confusing. Belle was certain that she would not have been able to find her room had Mr. Gold not taken her there. It was too many narrow corridors, which gave the mansion a maze like feel. Hopefully in her time here it would become easier.

At the bedroom door, Mr. Gold said his wishes for her to have a restful sleep before he walked down the dark hall, and soon she could not see him anymore. Belle opened the door, locking it behind her.

The room was welcoming and she had been provided with towels and a water bowl to clean herself.

Was their servants in this place? Outside of Mr. Gold, this place seemed totally abandoned, but she was well aware that such a old mansion had servant passages so that the owners did not want to see them.

That certainly seemed to be the case here… but it was still rather creepy.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if this place was haunted…” she muttered. Her clothes were still out to dry, and tomorrow when the sun was up she would fetch her suitcase. It would have enough clothes so that would last until this Mr. Dove showed up.

She still was not certain if this was a bad idea… but at least it was best in the circumstances. At least she would see how this night would go… and then… well…

She pulled out a handgun from her cloak. She at least had some form of protection. With her gun in hand she propped the door against the door. Mr. Gold had seemed very nice, and she did not think that he had bad intentions, but she would not bet her life on it. She wasn’t that stupid. Foolish and far too curious than what was healthy, yes… but not stupid.

Placing her gun under the pillow she lifted the covers and settled in, feeling how the warmth of the mansion continued to seep into her body.

Even if she was in an uneasy state in such an unknown place, exhaustion was caught up with her and she slipped into the realm of sleep.

Being practically passed out Belle was not aware of being surrounded by dozens of glowing eyes watching her as she slept and eagerly awaited for morning to come.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle and Mr. Gold have breakfast together.

The sun was streaming into the windows as Belle’s eyes slowly started to open her eyes. The sleep was far more restful than the other ones she had in a long time, which… the fact that sleeping in a strange mansion where she could not be certain she was safe was better than her home was rather worrying…

The only strange thing was that happened during the night was that she felt that the blanket was very heavy and something was walking on her. Not too unlike from Mrs. Potts cat walking on her when it had jumped in her open window. These thing felt a lot bigger however…

She shook her head. If it made her sleep better… she certainly did not mind.

At least the sun shining in it didn’t seem like it would be much of a trouble to get her luggage at the very least.

She dressed herself, the clothes warm from the room. At least she was feeling better in this place when nothing bad had happened during the night. Opening the doors she saw her bags already being placed outside.

“I really do not hope that Mr. Gold did not walk out to the car…” she said nervously, however she then thought that it was far more likely that one of his servants had been tasked to get it.

She was really grateful for it though, bringing in the bags, placing them near the bed. After opening it just to check if everything was there, which it was, however she had to put up more than one article of clothing to dry. She dared not to think how soaked her car was… but… well… she would just hope that the nice weather would dry it out… and hopefully it would not be stolen off the road.

After everything was settled, she grabbed one of her books… one which wasn’t really wet as she made her way down.

Again she felt she had to thank Mr. Gold… even if she was aware it would be brushed away with the rest of the thanks she had expressed. Still… she had to.

Walking down the stairs the aroma of eggs and bacon was filling her nose, making her stomach rumble slightly.

Making her way over to the kitchen where she was saw Mr. Gold was preparing a feast of eggs and bacon which could have satisfied a small army.

“Expecting guests?” she had to ask as she sat herself down on the chair watching him. Mr. Gold cocked his head.

“Not if you are not counting the unexpected one which came to my door last night…” he said as he gave her a plate of food along with a glass of water which she gratefully took.

“Again… I have to thank you for that,” she looked down gratefully taking a piece of bacon, eating it down.

“Mmm… I am starving,” she murmured.

“Well, there are aplenty of food… besides… it seems my friends are of the opinion that I need a bit of human company,” Mr. Gold said as he handed her some more of the delicious bacon.

Belle paused a bit, curiously looking up at him.

“Your friends…?” she asked with a pondering voice. A slight grin came upon Mr. Gold’s face.

“Is it that surprising to you that I have friends Miss French?” he asked.

Belle let out a sputtering sounds, looking down and scratching the side of her head.

“Of course not… nothing like that,” she said with a low tone, concentrating on her glass of water.

Mr. Gold let out a low chuckle.

“Do not worry Miss French. I do not have much in the way of… friends. The ones I refer to as my friends… I suppose you can call them… house spirits,” he used the same word as she had last night when referring to the decorations in this mansion.

Belle had to admit that she was feeling a shiver going down her back, those statues and decorations was rather… creepy.

“Uh… well… many speak of house spirits, yet yours seem rather… active,” she swallowed nervously. Again Mr. Gold let out an amused chuckle.

“They can be quite the… handful,” he said in a low tone. “But they do have their uses.”

“Uh… Mr. Gold… about my suitcase…”

“Yes… it was them, they really were eager for you to stay, at least for a couple of days,” he said with a shrug.

“Oh!” Belle was not certain what to think about that knowledge. But… she doubted that it seemed unlikely that if there were servants in this place that she had yet to see a sign of them… or even hear them.

“So… do you live here alone with your… friends?” she then asked. Again her host made a slow cocking motion of his head.

“Now yes. Not many makes their way out here… and those who do end up in Storybrooke, and well… I haven’t seen someone leave,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“I am sorry…” Belle whispered.

“Do not be. Never been fond of a lot of company,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “My friends however…”

He paused a bit as he lifted his gaze.

“They are rather excited to meet you… very much so in fact,” he said in a low tone.

Belle felt like she was still dreaming… because… this was impossible wasn’t it?

“I have tried to convince them to wait… to be patient, but they so want to meet you,” his eyes then lifted so that those golden eyes were boring into her blue ones.

“Do you want to meet them, Miss French?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle meets a new friend.

“M-meet them?” Belle let out a nervous stutter, as that was the last thing that she had expected.

“Yes… as I said… they are very eager,” Gold said, his eyes moving slightly towards the roof, Belle’s unconsciously following. “However… if you are nervous…”

“NO! Well… I am nervous I suppose, but… I do want to meet your friends… they must be rather… unusual, aren’t they?” he asked with a nervous tone.

“They are quite… different, yes,” he said with a slight movement of his hand.

“And not… human…” Belle had to affirm that she was already certain of. Mr. Gold nodded his head slowly.

“Yes…”

Belle nodded slowly. “I… did have a suspicion.”

“Humanity is rather foreign to them, but I assure you… you are quite safe,” he said in a low tone.

“The fact that you live out here by yourself… out here, near Storybrooke…”

Gold cocked his head, brushing his gloved hands over each other.

“Let us just say… I owe my friends a lot… everything in fact,” he said in a low tone. Belle glanced over at him, noting again his odd way of dress. It hardly looked comfortable…

Her face then raised her head towards him.

“Well… in that case… I would love to meet your friends, they are my hosts too are they not?” she gave him a brave smile.

“Hmm… I suppose they are even your true hosts. It was they who insisted to let you stay the night. I was hesitant as… they usually do not care for visitors,” he explained.

“Well… you have to thank them for me in that case,” she said with a gentle smile.

“You will get the chance to thank them yourself… however… we will take it slow. You have been rather brave so far all things considered,” Mr. Gold said as he finished the meat on his plate.

“There is no time like the present do you not agree?” he asked to her.

“I suppose there isn’t…” she murmured nervously… she really had ended up far from the modern world hadn’t she.

“Very good,” he said with a bow to his head. “Just wait for a moment.”

With that he walked out of the kitchen, leaving a rather confused Belle to sip her tea, not knowing what to expect.

It was a couple of moments before Mr. Gold with something covered in a blanket. Placing it on the table before her.

“It was hard to get just one out of there… they were rather eager,” he moved to straighten his cloak which had been crumpled.

“There are many then?” she looked at the cloth bundle which sat motionless on the table.

“Far too many, but… that is just how it is,” Mr. Gold said as he was more concerned with his tea which was about to go cold rather than the blanket bundle on the table.

Belle glanced at it, reaching carefully out and lifted the blanket a bit carefully, Mr. Gold watching curiously. Under she saw a patch of gleaming golden green scales. The creature in the blanket then started to move before it poked its head out.

Blinking curiously, Belle saw the strange reptilian creature which had a rather human face, a stubby nose, but no lips which showed its needle sharp teeth.

Its eyes were really large, but one was damaged, forcing it closed.

With its one good eye it looked at her closely, before it let out a slight chirping sound, making the older man chuckle a bit.

“Uh… I must confess… I didn’t expect this,” Belle continued to observe the creature which seemed to attempt to follow her moments, while in a while making soft chirps.

“They are quite… deceptive in their looks,” Mr. Gold said. “This one, perhaps less so than most. You may call him Ore if you want. But… they do not have names or sexes for that matter,” he said with a hand movement. “If you want to call them something else they do not care. They do not have a languages either.”

“That does sound… complicated,” Belle said still a bit stunned, the creature letting out a chirp towards her.

“They argue that having all of that is needlessly complicated. I have attempted to explain it to them… yet I am certain that they think I am speaking nonsense,” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Huh… I suppose…” Belle looked down at the creature which gave her another chirp. “Hi Ore, my name is Belle… suppose that was unnecessary since you do not really get the whole… name and language thing.”

The creature didn’t seem to mind at all simply letting out a chirp.

Belle looked at Ore a bit before she reached out her hand in an offering to it. “You are sort of cute…”

She was till not certain about what how it would react, but Ore reached out its little hand and grasped her finger gently and seemed to mimic a handshake while letting out another chirp.

Mr. Gold had to slightly roll his eyes. Belle glanced over at him again.

“You must really adore them… especially with how many decorations there is of them,” she said, the small creature moving closer to her before positioning her hand over its head.

“I assure you Miss French… the décor was not my idea…” he rolled his eyes, Belle subconsciously starting to scratch, feeling its scaly hide between her fingers, where it let out a happy sound.

“Well… no offence Mr. Gold… but the mansion’s décor does seem to suit you very well.” she laughed softly.

He shrugged his shoulders. “You do not want to see what would happen if they got free range to decorate… this mansion is frightening enough.”

Belle let out a laugh as she looked at the creature completely content with her scratching.

“You seem to handle this very well,” she said.

“I must confess… Ore here is rather cute… but… what is he…? And are there more of them? Where do they come from?”

Mr. Gold simply poured her another cup.

“I suppose this is going to be a long conversation, so how about we take this in the lounge, far more comfortable,” he mentioned to follow him.

Belle looked down at Ore, who gave her another chirp before it jumped down from the counter and followed Mr. Gold.

Picking up her tea she had to shake her head slowly.

“Still cannot believe this is not a dream…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Belle learns about the mysterious inhabitants of the mansion and the price to stay there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me some time to get this out, because I found I had no idea about what was going to happen, but that has solved itself. People are going to learn how truly terrifying the imps can be and what a ruthless mastermind Nugget can really be.

Walking into the lunge she saw Mr. Gold already seated on the large comfy chair, and Ore in the love seat where it fluffed up the pillows as it gave her an expected look.

“Thank you Ore,” she said as she sat herself down on the seat which the creature had been preparing for her. The creature puffed his chest out proudly before settling down close to her, resting against her legs.

Belle rested her hand on the creature’s small body, which made it let out a happy sound towards her.

“He is quite adorable isn’t he?” she asked.

“Why I figured that he was the best introduction to them. He is rather eager to please and he do enjoy your attention,” Mr. Gold said. “However… the rest are getting rather… impatient too.”

Belle followed her host’s eyes up towards the ceiling.

Among the decorations on the walkway lining the ceiling, now seeing several glowing eyes looking down at them.

“There really is quite a lot,” Belle said in a low tone.

“Yes, as we went over…” Mr. Gold said with a shrug. “Will you be alright with them coming down?”

Belle nodded slowly. “Yes, of course.”

On cue they scurried down the ceiling and quickly Belle found herself surrounded by the creatures, some practically on top of her lap.

“Oh! You are eager!” she exclaimed, continuing to run her hands over the many scaly backs. All of them letting out several chirping sounds.

“And a bit loud,” she laughed, doing her best to pet all of them.

“Hm… well, they do not usually make sound, they have no need to… however they have a rather… misunderstood idea of what language is. Humans make sound to communicate, so to bond with you they attempt to “speak” with you,” he said as he observed her closely with those golden eyes.

“Oh… that sounds rather… interesting, and nice of them,” she laughed a bit as she continued her impossible task of petting all the creatures.

“They do try,” he said softly, observing how the human who were practically swarmed at this point, but showing no sign of distress.

Well… she did not know the truth of them. But it was still impressive.

A rather loud thud then silenced all the chirping and all of the sudden Belle felt herself alone on the loveseat. Looking around confused as to why the creatures all the sudden ran away, wondering it was something that she did, she turned to see another one seated on the table.

It was far larger than the rest of them, nearing twice the size of the rest. The leader no doubt. It regarded her for a moment, and while she did not fear the rest of them… she could not help but imagine that this creature was looking straight through her.

It then seemed to have judged her… well… Belle was not certain… but it at least seemed to accept that she was there.

It then turned its back and jumped into one of the chairs and sat itself down with some of the other ones bringing one of the plates of bacon from the kitchen, putting it close where the creature sat, where it proceeded to picking it up and eating it.

Belle watched as the rest waited as the big ones ate it down. It then closed its eyes and the rest scurried over to the kitchen and soon Belle was well aware why Mr. Gold had made so much food.

They were hungry little critters. Ore then climbed onto the love seat and settled down next to Belle and nudged against her hand for another pat.

“Uh… Mr. Gold?” she asked mentioning her towards the large imp which continued to look at her, even as it was chomping down at the bacon.

“Ah… yes… I suppose I should introduce you to the true lord of the mansion,” Mr. Gold mentioned towards the large imp, who did not spare him a glance.

“Oh… uh… I am very grateful for you allowing me to stay here… uh…” she glanced over at Mr. Gold. “Does he have a name that you refer to him by like Ore?”

Mr. Gold moved his shoulders slowly. “Well… it is Nugget.”

Whatever Belle had expected it was not this. She had to take a minute to be certain if she had heard what she thought that he had. “Uh… Nugget?”

“Yes… we met when I was rather young and… now the name has sort of… stuck,” Mr. Gold scratched the side of his head. If Nugget was aware that he was being talked about he did not show any sign of it.

Belle had to let out a small laugh, hiding her mouth a bit. “That is rather adorable,” she had to admit.

“I wouldn’t quite put it like that,” Mr. Gold said as he shrugged his shoulders. Belle decided not to take it up further.

“But now I must ask… what are they?” she asked confused. Already she was aware that these were smarter than she thought. Hell, looking in Nugget’s eyes she felt like that creature had an intellect beyond her comprehension.

Mr. Gold glanced over at Nugget who gave a short nod.

“They do not have a name… again… they do not have a language,” he explained. “Imps are a rather good one, I admit. Let us just go with that for now.”

“Alright… it does fit,” Belle smiled down at Ore scratching his chest gently who stretched his limbs happily, just as another one with a bow like pattern on the scales under its chest, flopped over on her lap and presenting its belly for petting. Belle of course gave into its demand.

“As for what they are… I suppose you can call them exiles. They are from the depth of space. The reason they have no need for names and language is that they belong to a hivemind… they have access to everyone’s thoughts. There is also this entity… the Other Mind I have come to call it. It controls their species. Nugget here was deemed as a rebel. Him and his swarm… think pack… were sent here to this world. I believe the Other Mind expected him to die, but… earth is rather comfortable and he has done rather well for himself,” Mr. Gold mentioned across the mansion.

Belle sat absolutely astonished, the imp in her lap now pawing her hand to make her continue to scratch its chest.

“That is… I don’t know… I suppose I cannot even imagine,” she swallowed.

“Well… you are still here,” Mr. Gold shrugged his shoulders.

“Of course not. I just feel bad for them! Nugget is quite the impressive creature, to take care of his swarm and succeed,” she looked towards the large imp who blinked his eyes slowly. 

“I suppose all of us living here owe him a debt,” Mr. Gold said in a low tone.

“I owe him a lot as well… letting me stay here is very kind of him,” she said. “If there are anything I can do…”

Mr. Gold held up his hand to stop the deluge of words. “No need-“

However he was interrupted by several disgruntled chirps, with Nugget looking over at him and nodded his head slowly. Mr. Gold simply let out a sigh.

Belle looked around confused looking around, understanding that something was going on. “… what?”

Mr. Gold simply rolled his eyes a bit, before he let out a long sigh.

“The payment for you staying here until we can get you back to civilization is you giving out pets and scratches,” he explained, Belle sitting there before she burst out laughing.

“I think I can do that,” she managed when the laugh died down.


End file.
